I’ve picked this broken cheeseboard while clearing Dad’s old house. It’s been repaired twice, the second time with a splice and lots of ?araldite. I don’t want to throw it away, it was such a lovely piece, but I’m not sure how I can make a presentable joint with a third repair. Any ideas?
MouseyThompson cheeseboard; repair possibl?
- Thread starter Gant
- Start date
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TheTiddles
Established Member
Does it go back together with no gaps? Looks like it does.
If so a clean up and more epoxy might be the way to go, then once it’s solid, rout out that spline and replace it with a new one going 3/4 of the way through the handle
Aidan
If so a clean up and more epoxy might be the way to go, then once it’s solid, rout out that spline and replace it with a new one going 3/4 of the way through the handle
Aidan
Blackswanwood
Still Learning
+1 on the suggestion from Tiddles. Well worth the effort - I hope it works for you.
Lons
Established Member
+2
Definitely worth the effort to save it
Definitely worth the effort to save it
MARK.B.
Established Member
Well worth the time and effort to make it beautiful one more 
He created a logo known around the world and if yours is the real deal it is doubly worth saving as a example of his work
He created a logo known around the world and if yours is the real deal it is doubly worth saving as a example of his work
stuckinthemud
Established Member
+3, definitely worth saving
mrpercysnodgrass
Established Member
The first thing to do is to get all of the old glue off. I would then glue with West System epoxy mixed with microfibres and some yellow ochre and brown umber.
You can buy a small kit of west system like the one below.
If you cannot find small quantities of ochre near you let me know and I will pop some in the post to you.
Once you have the old glue off mix the west system with the ochre and using a sacrificial small brush, brush the glue onto the exposed end grain then using a heat gun or hairdryer heat the glue and you will see it sink into the end grain. Wax the whole piece with a clear paste wax around the join wipe extra wax with your finger being careful not to get any in the break. (this will prevent any excess glue sticking to the 'show' surface) Then mix the remaining glue with the microfibres until you have a paste like consistency, apply this mix to the join then clamp together. I would suggest clamping each piece onto a board covered in plastic or coated in a paste wax then clamp the two pieces together. Make sure you have a good join with everything lined up, clean off the excess glue with acetone. When that is all dried you can then replace the broken spline as Aidan suggested.
Good luck, it is a lovely piece and well worth the effort.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Epoxy-Resi...XKMF209EQF2&psc=1&refRID=HGVZMT80PXKMF209EQF2
You can buy a small kit of west system like the one below.
If you cannot find small quantities of ochre near you let me know and I will pop some in the post to you.
Once you have the old glue off mix the west system with the ochre and using a sacrificial small brush, brush the glue onto the exposed end grain then using a heat gun or hairdryer heat the glue and you will see it sink into the end grain. Wax the whole piece with a clear paste wax around the join wipe extra wax with your finger being careful not to get any in the break. (this will prevent any excess glue sticking to the 'show' surface) Then mix the remaining glue with the microfibres until you have a paste like consistency, apply this mix to the join then clamp together. I would suggest clamping each piece onto a board covered in plastic or coated in a paste wax then clamp the two pieces together. Make sure you have a good join with everything lined up, clean off the excess glue with acetone. When that is all dried you can then replace the broken spline as Aidan suggested.
Good luck, it is a lovely piece and well worth the effort.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Epoxy-Resi...XKMF209EQF2&psc=1&refRID=HGVZMT80PXKMF209EQF2
Thanks all. I’ve not worked with epoxy before, so here goes. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Many thanks again for your advice on repairing this cheese board. I have finally got round to doing it. In fact when I had cleaned off the old glue I found that the ends were very rounded and blunt, with hardly any interlocking fibres. I suppose it wasn’t surprising having been broken and glued twice. I didn’t think that a new join would be strong enough to cope with routing out the old spline. So I chiselled out the spline before joining, and created a dovetail shaped spline and socket (see photos). I then glued up with epoxy as you suggested, using a form made of plywood scraps to secure it while clamping.
I’m quite pleased with the result. It’s far from perfect, but perfect was never an option. I was especially happy with the figuring in the wood, which emerged strongly when I used a scraper to remove 5O years of cheese grease!
I’m quite pleased with the result. It’s far from perfect, but perfect was never an option. I was especially happy with the figuring in the wood, which emerged strongly when I used a scraper to remove 5O years of cheese grease!
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Sporky McGuffin
Light entertainer
How did it taste?
Suboptimal.
